The Emotional Side of Roman Slavery

Abstract

This thesis explores the emotional side of Roman slavery. I focus on the emotions of upper-class slaveowners and how their emotions shaped their attitudes towards slaves from the 1st century B.C. until the mid-3rd century A.D. In this thesis, I argue that Roman slaveowners’ discourses are filled with emotions and by identifying and analysing them one can understand how emotions helped to shape the master-slave relationship.